The Red Guardian and Melina Marvel Legends 2-pack was released in July 2021, the same month as the movie finally opened at the Cinema and via Premium Access on Disney+. The set brought us one of the main characters missing from the 2020 first wave, Melina Vostokoff, and allowed Hasbro an opportunity to correct the issues with their first Red Guardian figure - a victim no doubt of development using concepts and early shooting imagery.
The set utilises the usual scooped side packaging and carries forward the design features from the Black Widow MCU single figures with the strong application of red, black, and white in the artwork. The art itself is stylised and very reminiscent of propaganda from the Cold War era.
The rear of the box has a short text piece giving some background on Melina, with Alexei only getting a name check. There has also been a printing error here so the text is repeated four times in English, rather than the three alternative language versions we would usually see.
"After decades of service, Melina Vostokoff distances herself from the Red Room. But when Natasha Romanoff returns, Melina and Red Guardian must decide where their allegiance lies"
Looking at Melina first, she recycles the full body from the first Black Widow release, the Deluxe set in the 'snow' suit. There are some decorative changes, most notably the use of the cream on the shoulders, arms, and knees. Considering this is the same suit worn first by Natasha and then by Melina, the variation is an odd choice and the cream is certainly not visible to this extent on screen.
Melina also gets the upgrade of having the holster on her back to store her batons. This wasn't included on the Romanoff version - and it should have been.
The head sculpt is impressive, another fantastic likeness nailed by the Hasbro team, and finished off really well with the photo-real face print technology. The hair is also well done with a pony tail that sits naturally but is not interfering with the figure or articulation.
The paint work on Melina throughout is clean and crisp with no errors of note.
Melina comes with a number of accessories, starting with the pair of handguns that are packed already in their hip holsters. These are the small versions included with both Widow figures, and with Yelena. They are limited in detail and cast in black plastic. For some reason, they do not sit well into the hands packed with Melina as the trigger fingers seem too short? This same issue existed on Widow and Yelena and stems from the guns being too small to start with.
Melina also has her batons, another re-use from both Widow figures. Like most batons, they are very soft plastic and arrive warped in the box. They are cast in black with silver ring detail. While they will fit into the trigger hands - you get a pair of gripped hands to use them with. When not in use they can be stowed in the back holster.
There is a grappling hook weapon for Melina that includes soft goods string connecting the hook to an end piece that Melina can hold. This is detailed enough, cast in black plastic, and the more adventurous collectors may want to unfurl this and have Melina climbing something.
And if you simply want hand-to-hand combat Melina, the final inclusion is a pair of clenched fists.
Melina has a total of 16 points of articulation. While she has double joint knees, the elbows remain a single joint and the shoulders carry forward the issue the Natasha version had where the shoulders do not bring the arms into her side enough.
The legs give just about enough for kneeling and sitting poses, and even with the block heel, Melina stands perfectly fine in most poses.=
We move now to Alexei Vostokoff, and this is a redo of the 2020 Red Guardian figure with some obvious improvements. The first is the colouring of the suit which has gone to a deeper red and the grey of the gloves, straps, and boot tops have gone from grey to a more accurate white.
There is some debate over the star on the chest and the colour it should be. In the film, we have a much paler colour similar to the straps, but with some reflection to it. Hasbro has chosen to leave it silver. The costume does suffer from quite a few messy paint apps where the base red colour of the cast has not been covered fully by the black or white detailing.
The main issue with our first Alexei MCU figure was the head. We didn't get the helmet at all in the single release, and the unmasked head we did get was a very neatly groomed David Harbour with a very passing resemblance to the man. The new version corrects both of these issues bringing us both a helmeted head and an updated unmasked version.
The helmet version is a good match to what is onscreen with visible detailing on the central star and with varying shades of red around the sides. Oddly the colour choice is not a good match to the suit? The beard on this version is also painted in a single brown tone, so isn't quite as varied as you see Harbour sport on-screen with the grey running through it.
The unmasked head is a better likeness to Harbour and has a much-improved hairstyle and beard. It is odd however that the beard on the normal head is painted differently from the helmeted head and is a much better colour with the grey wash? That's a little bit inconsistent in the approach.
Red Guardian comes with a couple of accessories, the first being his Action Figure that he receives in prison. I need to watch Black Widow again, but I was sure the figure he received was based on the MCU look - Hasbro has given us a mini Red Guardian with a classic comic book look. It is well proportioned and well painted considering the scale.
Red Guardian also comes with a shield, which as we now know does not feature in the film and is either based on the comic book appearance or some early concept. The shield is now painted a darker gunmetal silver and the piece is cast in red, and not silver with red paint. It uses the pivoting clip/plug connection for use allowing it to be clipped to Alexei's arm or plugged into the socket on his back. This clip is under stress when clipped, so can weaken and break over time.
While the shield may not be screen accurate, it is a nice inclusion and the only other option would have been to include Taskmaster's shield that he appropriates at the end of the film.
The final inclusion for Red Guardian is a pair of standard hands in an outstretched grip, as though ready for combat. I would assume these have come from another figure as Red Guardian wore gloves through the movie and these really should have been black with the white panel on the rear.
Articulation for Alexei stretches to the full 21 points of articulation, adding a boot cut swivel alongside the usual male buck leg joints. Alexei can achieve most poses but remains tricky to stand due to the ratchet position of the ankle rockers often pushing him off balance.
One of the positives of the way Hasbro has packed this set is that the heads are interchangeable on both figures so Melina and Natasha can be swapped round, as indeed can all the versions of Red Guardians head. Putting screen accuracy aside for a moment - the red helmet colour in this set is a better match for the costume on the first release, allowing me to ditch that old head and display two versions of Red Guardian.
While neither fiture is perfect, I am pleased to see David Harbour get a better representation this time around, particularly after his performance in the movie. Red Guardian does however still suffer from some paint errors, colour choices and the odd choice of ungloves hands as an inclusion.
Melina is a figure that perhaps demonstrates where less is more and had Hasbro left the decor identical to the original deluxe Widow, then this would have been a better figure for it. It is good to see the inclusion of different parts like the grappling hook and shoulder joints aside she does articulate and poses really well.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
action figures, reviews, review, articulation, marvel, legends, black widow, red guardian, melina, MCU, hasbro, vostokoff, shostakoff, alexei, red room
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